UFC on FUEL TV 3's Chan Sung Jung: Dustin Poirier doesn't stand out in any area

FAIRFAX, Va. – Chan Sung Jung still uses the nickname “Korean Zombie,” but he no longer fits the image of a fighter always plodding forward, heedless of damage or counterattacks.

“I’ve really changed a lot,” said Jung (12-3 MMA, 2-0 UFC, slated to face fellow featherweight Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier (12-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in the main event of UFC on FUEL TV 3 on Tuesday at Fairfax, Va.’s Patriot Center. “Both in my technique and my game as an MMA fighter, but also in the way that I think about my fighting and my thought process.

“You can sort of think of it really as just a complete change in how I fight and how I think about things.”

Beating Hominick so quickly sent Jung’s stock soaring. The USA TODAY/SB Nation consensus rankings currently have him at No. 11, five spots behind Poirier. An impressive win for either man on Tuesday’s event (8 p.m. ET on FUEL TV) would give the victor a strong case for inclusion in the UFC’s featherweight title picture.

USA TODAY Sports spoke to Jung on Saturday about his upcoming bout. Excerpts from the conversation with Jung, speaking through a translator:

USA TODAY: Before facing Mark Hominick, how did you envision that fight going?

Jung: I had no idea that the fight as going to turn out like that. I definitely wanted to come out and win with my striking. That’s always my preference.

But I kind of thought that the fight was going to go to the ground. But it didn’t.

USA TODAY: He came out with his hands down. It looked like he wanted to swing away. Did that initial approach surprise you?

I wasn’t really expecting him to come out like that. I was a bit surprised by it. I just sort of acted on instinct when I counterattacked.

But I don’t think that he probably was really planning to come out like that either. I think that it being in front of his home crowd, he probably had the adrenaline pumping. It might not have been exactly his game plan either.

USA TODAY: Speaking of adrenaline pumping, this will be your first time headlining a UFC card. How do you avoid coming in too amped up?

I think in my first fight in the U.S., against Leonard Garcia in the WEC, I was really excited coming in, and I had that adrenaline going. Also, especially my second fight, against George Roop, I felt almost like I was the hometown guy because the fans were really rooting for me in that particular fight. So I think I came a little bit too excited, with a little bit too much emotion coming into it.

So I learned a lot from those two first fights, definitely, about controlling myself and not letting the adrenaline get to me too much.

USA TODAY: What do you do to put yourself in the proper frame of mind?

I just think it’s a matter of not sort of giving in to the crowd and not giving in to my emotions whereas before I wanted to really put on an exciting fight and give the fans what they were wanting. I just think it’s a matter of me sort of sticking to my game plan.

USA TODAY: Dustin feels that you’ve become a more careful fighter since your loss to George Roop. How much would you agree with that assessment?

I’ve really changed a lot since that fight, both in my technique and my game as an MMA fighter, but also in the way that I think about my fighting and my thought process. You can sort of think of it really as just a complete change in how I fight and how I think about things.

USA TODAY: How does that manifest itself in concrete terms? What are you doing now that you weren’t doing before that fight?

It starts with the training. I train differently, and I train with that sort of a mindset, and so it comes out in the fights. It’s something that I wanted to show in the Mark Hominick fight, but didn’t really get a chance, didn’t have enough time to showcase the development in my game.

USA TODAY: Dustin’s record suggests that he’s a more well-rounded fighter than the last few guys you’ve fought. Given that his versatility, what do you think is the biggest threat that he poses, and what’s the biggest advantage you have over him?

Dustin Poirier is a very well-rounded fighter, and I think his skill level all-around is very even. But I think that it’s his strong point and it’s also sort of a weak point because he doesn’t really stand out in any particular area.

I think that’s what’s going to be an advantage for me, is that I feel like I have an edge on him in all the different facets of the game. When I was training, it was easy for me to train to come up with ways and strategies to sort of take advantage of the fact that he doesn’t really stand out in one particular area more than another.

USA TODAY: You’ve mentioned that you’d rather knock someone out, but you also had the “Submission of the Year” in 2011. What is it about striking that appeals to you more than grappling?

It probably starts with my background in kickboxing since that’s what I started doing. I feel like hitting the other guy and coming out with striking is the basis of the game for me, really. I think of mixed martial arts, for me, as something that extends out of the striking.

It’s not just, you go to the ground, and then there’s the ground game, and there’s the standing game separate. It’s more like, from the standing game, if I need to, I can take him to the ground and show my skills there. But it starts, for me, with the striking.

USA TODAY: In his last fight, Dustin had quite an impressive submission of his own. If your fight ends up on the ground, would you be willing to go move-for-move with him, or would you rather just scramble up?

I think it really depends on what happens in the fight. I think I’m very confident in my submission game and my ground skills, but once you get into the fight, things might not go exactly like how you planned, or they might be a little bit different than you think.

If, for instance, we go to the ground and he’s stronger than I thought, then in that case, I might want to try to get it standing again. But I’m confident in my ground game.

USA TODAY: Dustin these days is generally regarded as a top-10 guy in the division. If you beat him, where does that put you in the title picture?

I think, first off, if I beat Dustin Poirier, it would probably leapfrog me as far as the rankings in the featherweight division. But it’s the sort of thing where it’s not always necessarily the second-place guy, the No. 2 guy, who’s going to get the title fight.

Depending on how this fight goes and if I win — how I win — it could put me in a position to be in the next title match as opposed to just (saying) the No. 2 guy automatically gets it. There’s a lot of different factors that play into who gets the title match.

USA TODAY: Let’s put it this way: If you win impressively, if you get a big knockout or a submission, would you be inclined to call for a title shot?

Yes, I think if I win this fight convincingly, it should put me in line for the title fight.

USA TODAY: Given that you might put yourself in contention for a title fight, who do you think will win the championship fight in Calgary, Jose Aldo or Erik Koch?

I think that Aldo’s going to win. He’s got more experience as a fighter and also in these big fights.

I think Erik Koch, he’s a big guy. He’s a tough fighter. But he doesn’t have the experience being in the main events, being on that big of a stage.

Just all around, I think Aldo is going to win.

USA TODAY: In a recent interview, a few days ago, you mentioned that you’ve heard about the Korean community here, that there’s a large Korean community here in northern Virginia. Have you heard from anybody, or have you been able to connect with anyone here in the Korean community yet?

I’ve had a chance to meet a lot of the people here in the Korean community — some of the community organizations, as well.

I think that because Korea is such a small country, when you see people, especially outside of Korea, there have been a lot of people who have wanted to help out and who have given us a lot of support and a lot of help since we’ve gotten here.

USA TODAY: When you say help, what do you mean? Have they found you good places to eat or…?

They’ve been helpful as far as food. We haven’t paid for many meals since we’ve gotten here.

But also we’ve gotten some sponsors, and we’ve gotten some financial support, as well.

Ronda Rousey’s statistical greatness has already ventured into uncharted territory – just six fights into her UFC career. Check out all the post-fight facts, including Rousey’s latest achievements, about UFC 190.

UFC champion Ronda Rousey did it again when she smashed Bethe Correia in 34 seconds at UFC 190. But after her third straight opponent tries and fails to make it out of the first minute, the world’s best female fighter needs a better dance partner.